Are You On Your Way to Church?

“Are you on your way to church?”, he asked.    It seemed like an appropriate question as we waited in line at the convenience store.  It was Sunday morning, and I was dressed in a suit and tie. 

“Yes, I am.   How about you?  What are you going to  be up to today?”,  I said.    As we both waited for the person in front of us to buy their lottery tickets, he said,  “Oh,  I am going to spend some time in the Word and probably later invite some friends over.”  

He took care of his business at the checkout counter.  As I prepared to go up to the counter, he did something that I did not expect.  He came back  to me and warmly shook my hand and said,  “Bless you, in the name of Jesus.  Have a blessed day.”  And then, he went on his way out of the door and I went up to the counter.

I have thought about that chance encounter in the convenience store in some depth since that day.   I have thought about what I said and what he said.  I was moved by his warm handshake and his blessing on me in the name of Jesus.  I have also thought about the fact that though he told me that he would be spending some time in the Word (the Bible), he did not say anything about spending some time in church.  What is it that is keeping that man and the thousands like him away from church Sunday after Sunday?     Why is it that that people in church do not spend time in the Word and persons like that man not in church spend time in the Word?     Is his absence in church that Sunday a result of  his own laziness or is it the poor  witness of people like me who are in church? 

In Matthew 7: 16-17,  Jesus says:    ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.       It is not only important for me to be in church, but it is also important that the love of Christ shared in the church to be in me.   Have a joy-filled week.-  Randy Walla

Prayer:   Lord God,  thank you for loving me despite my many sins and failures.   Through the power of your Spirit, help me to so believe in my heart in Christ that his love overflows through my love I show  to those I meet every day;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.